[Video] Rand Paul asks if any Senators would buy Ukraine debt 3/12/14

[tsai3904]

Video (1:06:02 - 1:20:37):
http://www.foreign.senate.gov/hearings/031214bm

Rand introduced an amendment to strike out the $1 billion loan guarantee and increased IMF funding to Ukraine. Rand's amendment failed by voice vote.

Hopefully someone can tube Rand's remarks (he speaks twice during the exchange).

 

[tsai3904]

Rand voted against the underlying bill, which included sanctions. Here's a summary of the bill:

The Support for the Sovereignty, Integrity, Democracy, and Economic Stability of Ukraine Act of 2014 includes the following components:

-It provides for loan guarantees for Ukraine, consistent with the $1 billion announced by the administration in recent days, and mirrors the just-passed House legislation.

-It directs the Obama administration to assist the Ukrainian government to identify, secure and recover assets linked to acts of corruption by Viktor Yanukovych, members of his family, or other former or current Ukrainian government officials.

-It authorizes $50 million for democracy, governance and civil society assistance and $100 million for enhanced security cooperation for Ukraine and other states in Central and Eastern Europe.

-It provides for additional sanctions, complementing the president's recent executive order, against Ukrainians and Russians alike responsible for violence and serious human rights abuses against anti-government protesters and those responsible for undermining the peace, security, stability, sovereignty or territorial integrity of Ukraine, including through acts of economic extortion.

-It imposes sanctions on Russian officials or their associates complicit in or responsible for significant corruption in Ukraine to include asset freezes and visa revocations.

-It includes needed reforms to the United States' participation in the International Monetary Fund, which would allow the United States to leverage significant support from the IMF for Ukraine today and for similar unforeseen crises in the future.

 

[jtstellar]

anybody who still does't know what rand is doing please raise your hand, because you will be certifiably retarded. a rock can see rand's pattern by now. let alone those like me who sensed him on the first day ages ago.

 

[Brett85]

anybody who still does't know what rand is doing please raise your hand, because you will be certifiably retarded. a rock can see rand's pattern by now. let alone those like me who sensed him on the first day ages ago.

I've been critical of Rand over this issue, but I'll certainly give him credit when I agree with him, and it's great that he voted against this bill. Still, it's clear from what he's said that he would've voted for this bill if it had only contained sanctions and not all the spending. So it's not like he's suddenly opposed to sanctions just because he voted against this bill. I'm glad that Rand is at least a fiscal conservative on foreign policy issues, even though he's not a pure non interventionist.

 

[Brett85]

Rand voted against the underlying bill, which included sanctions. Here's a summary of the bill:

Did anyone else in the Senate committee vote against the bill?

 

[tsai3904]

Did anyone else in the Senate committee vote against the bill?

It passed 14-3. Paul, Barrasso and Risch voted No.

 

[Brett85]

Rubio has said that he opposes the bill as well, but wasn't there to vote on it.

 

[anaconda]

LOL some dude completely burst out laughing when Rand asked for a show of hands on who would buy Ukranian debt..

 

[jct74]

HuffPo article

Rand Paul Criticizes Loan To Ukraine As A 'Gift' To Russia

by Luke Johnson
Posted: 03/12/2014 4:43 pm EDT

Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) came out Wednesday against loans for Ukraine, because he believes the money would benefit Russia.

"The loan assistance I believe will be a gift and a benefit to Russia," he said. "Ukrainians owe about $20 [billion] to $30 billion to the Russians, both to private Russian banks as well as to the gas entity in Russia."

"I think it sends the wrong signal," he said. "Ukrainian debt is rated CCC-," he said, adding that there was "no expectation that they could pay it back."

...

Paul offered an amendment to strike the loans, which subsequently failed on a voice vote. (A request for a copy of the amendment was not immediately returned from Paul's office.)

Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn.) politely rebuked Paul. "While Russia may be a creditor, Ukraine has lots of creditors and somehow or another, they've got to make a transition from where they are."

"The worst thing we could do right now is to say, 'We aren't going to assist you,'" said Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.).

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/12/rand-paul-ukraine_n_4951406.html

 

[jct74]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bM4dLQ7v7Ks

 

[limequat]

The comments on HuffPo are amusing. They're condemning Rand...but they don't know why.

 

[Matt Collins]

Video (1:06:02 - 1:20:37):
http://www.foreign.senate.gov/hearings/031214bm

Rand introduced an amendment to strike out the $1 billion loan guarantee and increased IMF funding to Ukraine. Rand's amendment failed by voice vote.

Hopefully someone can tube Rand's remarks (he speaks twice during the exchange).

Ashame Rand wasn't able to get a roll call vote.

 

[AuH20]

This is exactly why they will never let Rand be president. He understands the fiduciary relationship between the taxpayer and the government.

 

[jtstellar]

This is exactly why they will never let Rand be president. He understands the fiduciary relationship between the taxpayer and the government.

this isn't the kennedy age where you can block off information that easily

 

[RonPaulGeorge&Ringo]

Full markup session, 74 minutes. C-SPAN via MOXNEWS.

 

[jjdoyle]

this isn't the kennedy age where you can block off information that easily

Blocking doesn't matter, they spin it, and quickly change the topic if necessary.
The CIA understood this back when they launched what we now call Operation Mockingbird, back in the 50s.

But on this question from Rand, I do have a funny idea for a video. Might give it a try...

 

[RonPaulGeorge&Ringo]

If you watch the full C-SPAN/MOXNEWS 74min video, Sen. Paul introduced another amendment around the 66-minute mark to reduce foreign aid to Russia.

He called it "Paul Amendment 3" so maybe there's another one in there that I missed.